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Sri Lanka Supreme Court restrains eviction of Tamils from Colombo
B. Muralidhar Reddy
| Rajapaksa directs the DGP to explain the ``manner' in which Tamils were evicted from lodges |
ANXIOUS MOMENT: A Sri Lankan Tamil family at temporary boarding in Colombo on Friday.
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Friday passed an "interim order," restraining the Government from evicting Tamils staying in lodges/hotels here and restricting entry of Tamils into the capital.
The order came in response to a fundamental rights application filed by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a Colombo-based think-tank, and uproar from virtually every conceivable quarter within and outside the island nation.
The police action of bundling out 376 "jobless Tamils' to their towns and villages in the north and east on Thursday has been denounced as a senseless move that could widen the ethnic polarisation and strengthen the "case' of Tamil Tigers.
Directive to DGP
Stung by the reactions, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday, directed the Director-General of Police to explain the ``manner' in which Tamils were evicted from lodges.
Minister and Defence spokesperson Keheliya Rembukwella justified the police action, saying that 90 per cent of recent terrorism related incidents in and around Colombo were hatched in these lodges.
The court order directed the Inspector-General of Police, Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa and eight other respondents not to prevent Tamil persons from entering and/or staying in any part of Colombo.
The case is posted for further hearing on June 22.
The petitioner contended that evicting Tamils from Colombo was wrongful, unlawful and illegal and violated the fundamental rights, guaranteed by Article 12 (1), 12(2), 13(1), 13(2) and 14(1)(h) of the Constitution.
``As reported in the media, the operation commenced in the early hours of the morning. Police and army officers visited the lodges occupied predominantly by Tamils in Colombo and forcibly removed them,'' a CPA press release said.
The CPA maintained that it was reported that people were given less than half-an-hour to pack all their belongings and board buses.
Newspaper reports also raised the issue as to what the police considered as being a valid reason, given that a patient undergoing treatment and a woman who was to be married in a few days in Colombo were among those evicted.
Hours after the apex court order, the CPA urged the authorities to take note of the interim order and to take measures to prevent future evictions.
A statement from the President's Secretariat said the Inspector General of Police was asked to submit an immediate report to the President on the manner in which the exercise was carried out and about reports regarding hardships and inconvenience caused to the persons concerned.
It said the President had taken serious note of the concerns expressed in various quarters. ``Allegations will be thoroughly investigated and appropriate remedial action, including disciplinary proceedings against any wrongdoing by any Government official, will be taken,'' it said.
The Government move came under attack also from the international community. The co-chairs of Sri Lanka and India are believed to have raised concern over the issue at the highest level.
Norway reaction
Norway, the official facilitator of peace talks, in a statement said: ``The move by the Colombo police is a clear violation of international human rights law. The Government of Sri Lanka has legitimate security concerns. Moreover, it has the right and obligation to take measures to guarantee the safety of its population. However, such measures should not indiscriminately target Tamils, or any other ethnic group, and should always be in accordance with international human rights law." It urged the Government to cease any further enforced removal of Tamils, and to consider granting immediate permission to return for those already removed from the city. The United States and the European Union issued identical statements.
``The U.S. understands and supports Sri Lanka's obligation to defend itself against terrorism. But this action can only widen the ethnic divide at a time when important efforts are underway to reach a national consensus to end Sri Lanka's nearly quarter-century old conflict,'' said a statement from the U.S. Embassy here.
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